Saka Koraizaemon XI (十一代 坂高麗左衛門), Japanese, 1912–1981

A Hagi Chawan (萩焼茶碗) 

Showa Era (1926-1989)

About the work

A Hagi ware tea bowl by Saka Koraizaemon XI. The bowl has a broad, gently flaring form rising from a compact foot, with subtle irregularities in the rim and profile that lend it a relaxed, hand formed character appropriate to the aesthetics of chanoyu.

The surface is covered with a softly translucent whitish Hagi glaze, through which the warm reddish brown clay remains visible. The glaze varies considerably across the vessel, gathering into milky blue white areas while thinning elsewhere to reveal the clay beneath. Small pinholes, runs and irregular pools further enliven the surface, creating the subdued and naturally varied appearance prized in Hagi ware.

The foot is particularly expressive, with areas of exposed reddish clay contrasting against thick runs of pale glaze. The underside bears the potter's impressed seal. Inside, the glaze develops deeper grey and lavender tones, with visible throwing marks giving a sense of movement to the otherwise restrained form.

The tea bowl is accompanied by its original signed wooden tomobako, cloth and documentation. 

Dimensions

8.3cm(h) x 13.5cm(w)

Footnote

Saka Koraizaemon XI (十一代 坂高麗左衛門, 1912–1981), born Nobuo in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was a distinguished Hagi ware potter. After graduating from the Imperial Art School, now Musashino Art University, he was adopted into the historic Saka family in 1948 through marriage. The Saka lineage traces its origins to the Korean potter Yi Kyŏng, who received the Japanese name Saka Koraizaemon from the lord of the Chōshū domain in 1625. He succeeded as the eleventh Saka Koraizaemon in 1958. His work was first selected for the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1966, and he became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1971. Particularly admired for robust tea wares inspired by Korean Ido bowls and for his powerful Oni Hagi works incorporating coarse sand and gravel into the clay body, he received the Yamaguchi Prefecture Arts and Culture Promotion Encouragement Award in 1973 and was designated a holder of Yamaguchi Prefecture Intangible Cultural Property in 1975. In 1980, he became a director of the Japan Kōgei Association.